Sustainable Cutting Tool Manufacturing by Blasting with solid Carbon Dioxide

The application of solid carbon dioxide (CO<inf>2</inf>) in blasting processes offers the potential for sustainable cleaning of tungsten carbide workpieces after grinding by reducing the amount of chemical waste. In this study, process parameters such as feed rate, standoff distance and blasting angle were varied for CO<inf>2</inf>-snow blasting as well as dry ice pellet blasting. In order to investigate the cleanliness of the workpieces, residual particles, static contact angle and surface roughness were analyzed. The results show that both cleaning methods effectively remove over 90 % of remaining particles of the grinding process and are suitable for the preparation of tungsten carbide substrates for subsequent tool coating. Also, the workpiece surface was improved by slightly reducing the surface free energy and the surface roughness. This research highlights the potential of blasting with solid CO<inf>2</inf>as a sustainable and efficient alternative for industrial cleaning in modern manufacturing environments.